奧巴馬芝加哥鄰宅待售 估價超百萬美元

Want to live next door to US President Barack Obama? The colonial mansion next to his Chicago home is now available - for the right price.

So far, the real estate broker handling the sale won't even guess at what that price might be.

"We don't know what premium the Obama factor will have," said Matt Garrison of Coldwell Banker.

"If it was a block away it would be somewhere in the (neighborhood) average of 1.2 to two million dollars."

Garrison's phones have been ringing off the hook since the house was put on the market on Friday.

They've had at least a handful of serious inquiries - one from as far away as London - and expect more to pour in as word gets out.

But those hoping for an invite from Obama or the chance to swap recipes with the First Lady might be setting themselves up for disappointment.

Despite vowing to come home to Chicago as often as possible, the Obamas spend most of their time in Washington and have chosen Camp David and Martha's Vineyard for recent vacations.

The new owners will also have to contend with roadblocks and screening by the Secret Service, what Garrison calls living in "the ultimate gated community."

Viewings of the 6,000 square foot brick home will be scheduled only after potential buyers show they are financially capable of closing the deal.

Built in 1906, the brick colonial mansion has eight bedrooms, a coach house on its ample grounds and has maintained many of its original details and stained glass windows.

It is just a few blocks away from the University of Chicago and the proposed site of the 2016 summer Olympics in the prestigious Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago's south side.

The current owners bought the house for 35,000 dollars in 1973 and are looking to downsize to a condominium.

想與美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬做鄰居？目前，與奧巴馬在芝加哥老家的住宅相鄰的一處殖民建築風格的豪宅正待售，而且價格公道。

到目前爲止，代理豪宅出售的房地產中介公司甚至都無法預測這套房子能賣到多少錢。

科威房產中介公司的馬特•加里森說：“我們不知道‘奧巴馬’這張牌能爲房子加價多少。”

“距離這裏一個街區的房屋的均價大約在120萬美元至200萬美元之間。”

這套豪宅於上週五開始出售後，加里森的電話都被打爆了。

諮詢者們至少要問幾個嚴肅的問題，隨着消息的傳播，諮詢電話會更多。這兩天還有一位遠在倫敦的買主打電話諮詢。

不過那些希望受邀去奧巴馬家裏坐坐，或者有機會與第一夫人交換食譜的人可能要失望了。

儘管承諾要儘量多回芝加哥老家，但現在奧巴馬一家大多數時間都住在華盛頓，而且最近的度假地也選在了戴維營和瑪莎葡萄園島。

此外，新房主還得應付路障，還會受到美國特勤局的審查。加里森稱住在這裏等於住在了“監護最嚴密的小區”。

只有當潛在買家證明自己有經濟實力購買這處6000平方英尺的磚房住宅後，纔會安排看房。

這座殖民建築風格的磚房豪宅建於1906年，共有8間臥室，在寬敞的院內有一間馬車房，整套住宅保留着其原有的大部分特色以及彩色玻璃窗。

這處豪宅距芝加哥大學，以及有望舉辦2016年夏季奧運會的賽址僅有幾個街區的距離。這處賽址位於芝加哥南部著名的肯伍德區。

這套房子的現房主於1973年花了3.5萬美元買下這處住宅，如今房主希望將其縮小爲一套公寓。

Vocabulary:

colonial：殖民地式的，美國殖民地式住宅，是僑居美國的歐洲殖民主義者到北美洲後，利用當地建築材料，建成一種既簡潔又實用的住宅，形成獨特的建築形式。

premium：a bonus, gift, or sum additional to price, wages, interest, or the like（溢價，額外費用）

ring off the hook：of a telephone, to ring constantly or excessively（電話鈴響不斷，鈴聲大作）

condominium：共管式公寓，套房私有，其它地方屬業主共有。